Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort Named “Best of the South”

Honor bestowed by Meetings South Magazine

Panama City Beach, Fla. (July 23, 2008) – Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort has recently been voted as one of the best meeting facilities in the Southern United States for 2008 by the readership of Meetings South magazine. This acclaimed distinction is regarded as a great achievement since the voting readers make up most of the top national meeting planners. The prestigious “Best of the South” awards will be published in the September issue of the trade’s premier magazine.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for our facilities, value and customer service with such an impressive award,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing for The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, which manages Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort. “Our 32,000-square-foot state-of-the-art conference facility offers meeting planners great flexibility as well as a beautiful backdrop for their groups to enjoy. In addition, I think our corporate climate of customer service and attitude towards excellence made favorable impressions with the meeting planners who voted, giving us an edge over our competitors.”

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The Circus' Disappearing Act

The news is nothing new, the circus has left town, early. The tent is gone, their business office is vacated and none of the circus’ phones are being answered. Actually, nobody is answering their phones.

Everything started in the spring of 2008 with all the hype of FSU’s Flying High Circus coming to town. They have a great reputation and have performed for 60 years with their main summer act being at Callaway Gardens in the summer since 1960. Don Hamrick wanted to change all that. Don and his wife Brenda formed Flying High LLC, contracted with FSU to pay them $120,000 for use of the name, Flying High Circus, and hired their student circus staff for the summer paying the performers $10 an hour.

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Grand Lagoon National – Party Boat Tournament

The Grand Lagoon National, being held on August 20-24 has formed Party Boat rules to allow fishing enthusiasts to compete for cash awards during the tournament. Prizes will be awarded for party boats that surrender the heaviest Gag Grouper, Red Grouper, Trigger Fish, Vermilion Snapper or Amberjack.

The entry fee for the first day will be $100 and $75 for each additional day.

There will be two Classes of competition with both classes to be subject to the rules and regulations of the Party Boat Division. The first class is anglers that go on an 8 hour fishing trip and the second class is those that go on a fishing trip less than 8 hours.

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Firefly Restaurant Review

The Lighting of a New Era in Fine Dining

Nestled in the Shoppes at Edgewater, Firefly is Panama City Beach’s newest fine dining experience. From the moment I walked through the door I knew this was no ordinary beach eatery serving the usual beach fare. A beautiful waterfall adorning the wall behind the bar creates a “Wow Factor” upon entering the front lounge. An adjoining lounge with sofas and live music on Thursdays and Saturdays adds a tranquil and sumptuous feel to Firefly’s stylish environment. And keep walking…the biggest Wow Factor is yet to come: A huge oak tree – adorned with fireflies throughout – stands smack dab in the middle of the dining room. A description in words doesn’t do this vision justice…you just have to go there and see for yourself. Everything I sampled at Firefly was a notch above “really good.” Which is to say, simply, they got it right.

We began the journey with an aperitif of martinis. The Espresso Martini was thick and rich, cold, and not too sweet (which is a common mistake with martinis). The Pineapple Marini was refreshingly fruity and mellow. Our Tempura Fried Apalachicola Oysters were light and tender, served with a tangy cocktail sauce and an assembly of pickled parsnips, shallots, carrots, snap peas and red endive. The Tuna Nicoise, a scoop of sushi-grade rare tuna, was drizzled with basil oil and had a slightly savory, nutty finish. We sampled a bowl of smooth-as-silk Carrot Ginger Gazpacho swirled with a biting red pepper coulis, and garnished with a steak kabob. The vegetables and herbs that went into this cool concoction were so fresh the flavor spanked my taste buds, and the oversized white porcelain bowl added a cartoon-like whimsical flair to the presentation. Next came the Hydroponic Salad…butter lettuce underneath a confetti of strawberries and goat cheese, trickled with a warm brown butter pecan dressing.

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Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort Hosts Grand Lagoon National

Saltwater Fishing Enthusiasts Flock to Resort for Big Catch

Panama City Beach, Fla. (July 23, 2008) – Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort is the official host resort for the 2008 Grand Lagoon National, scheduled for August 20-24. The tournament, billed as “America’s Saltwater Fishing Tournament,” consists of eight separate tournaments appealing to every kind of saltwater fishing enthusiast.

“We are pleased to host the Grand Lagoon National fishing tournament,” said Paul Wohlford, vice president of sales and marketing for The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, which manages Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort. “The event is a great opportunity to showcase our beautiful resort and amenities to fishing enthusiasts and their families.”

The $1 million purse is enough to attract more than one thousand anglers, hundreds of boats and healthy onshore crowds.

As official sponsor and host, Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort will offer two VIP packages starting at $99 per night to include deluxe accommodations in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums complete with fully-equipped kitchens, and washers and dryers. For more information on the Angler VIP package and the Spectator VIP package, call (800) 874-8686.

Tropical Storm Dolly Update

From Weather.com:

As of 8pm EDT, Tropical Storm Dolly was located about 405 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph. It is moving to the west at 16 mph.

Tropical Storm Dolly has spent the majority of the day over the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico but it struggled mightily to organize and intensify.

Be Prepared

With a favorable atmospheric environment in place and Gulf of Mexico water temperatures near 85 degrees, Dolly was expected to strengthen throughout the day. That being said, this evening, satellite images show Dolly is finally getting its act together and thunderstorms are developing around the center of circulation.

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Officials Want New Airport to be "aerotropolis"

As reported by emeraldcoast.com:

Panama City-Bay County International Airport officials want the new $330 million facility to be an “aerotropolis” that draws international flights and business to West Bay.

To meet that goal, airport leaders are in discussions with several international carriers and have hired John Kasarda, a scholar, author and the man who coined the term “aerotropolis.”

Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis said airport officials are in talks with several airlines in Canada and England. He described the discussions as ongoing but declined to name the airlines.

Bill Cramer, the vice chairman of the Airport Authority, confirmed the discussions but also declined to name names.

“They’re not willing to go on the record,” Cramer said of the airlines.

However, he added the airport’s new hire will be instrumental in bringing in those international flights and other businesses.

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Did the Summer White Sale Hurt Local Businesses?

There was a “letter to the editor” published in the News Herald on July 18th from Reggie Lancaster talking about how the Summer White Sale didn’t help local tourism, but actually hurt the existing businesses.

Quote:

Few people have more of an appreciation of what our Tourist Development Council members do than I. I spent 11 years on the board and chaired it for four years and have fond memories of serving with some great people. I would like to offer some constructive criticism to the advertising agency and the board in regards to the current advertising effort referred to as the Summer White Sale.

Although well intentioned, I don’t believe the advertising campaign produced the desired results. Instead of enticing new guests to come to Panama City Beach, it largely accomplished offering reduced rates and incentives to guests who already had reservations or at least plans to come here. Consequently, while everything else in the country was going up in price, we were reducing already stressed profit margins in the accommodation industry.

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Tapestry Park Cinema Brings Movies to Life in Panama City Beach

Bring your lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets and get ready for the second installment of Tapestry Park Cinema. Tapestry Park will continue hosting a free movie night on Friday, July 25th. The event will run once a month through September. Each month, a well known film will be shown on a giant 16-foot screen in Savannah Park. Tapestry Park Cinema will also be offering a cash-only concession stand.

“We received numerous compliments following the first movie night at Tapestry Park and everyone is so excited for this event to continue,” said Mark Tanney, the developer of Tapestry Park. “We have had such an outpouring of support from the community and hope others will come join us for the next movie; who doesn’t love surfing penguins!”

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Bay County Skate Park on Panama City Beach – Video!

A needed and overdue skate park is being built on Panama City Beach and is set to open in the next two weeks.

Brian Kehl, local developer and restaurant owner had a vision and wanted a place for not only him and his 7 year old, but a place for local talent to skate ramp.

Growing up, Brian had a 9 foot vert ramp in his back yard that him and his brother Corey would skate after school and on weekends. With the only place to skate ramp around here being in Lynn Haven at Renegade Sports Center, Brian wanted something that was not only closer, but a place that would be taken more seriously as a skate park.

Click the more link for the video.

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